Nostalgia Hillman: History of a long-gone Coventry car brand

LIKE Triumph, Hillman was another Coventry car maker which grew out of bicycle making.

Before it was the UK’s ‘motor city,’ Coventry was the epicentre of bicycle making in the UK, an industry which saw huge growth as people the world over bought into the freedom transport on two wheels could offer.

After the arrival of the first velocipedes in 1868, Coventry went on to become the home of the British cycle industry, at one point producing more bicycles than any other city in the world.

It has been calculated that over a 100-year period there were more than 450 cycle makers in the city.

Josiah Turner and James Starley formed the Coventry Sewing Machine Company in 1857.

Their policy was to recruit skilled engineers and one of those was William Hillman, who hailed from London.

In 1869 it became the Coventry Machinists Company and started to produce velocipedes. The following year Hillman and Starley patented a new bicycle called the Ariel which was hugely successful.

By 1885 Hillman was a partner in bicycle maker Hillman Herbert and Cooper and another successful two-wheeled creation in the shape of the Kangaroo saw spiral.

Before the end of the 19th century Hillman was a millionaire and his success enabled him to fulfil his ambition of becoming a car maker.

At some point Hillman moved into Abingdon House in Stoke Aldermoor and settled on setting up a car factory in its grounds.

Hillman-Coatalen, was founded by William with Frenchman Louis Coatalen as designer and chief engineer in 1907.

As was the case in those pioneering days in the motor industry, cars were designed with racing in mind. its fortunes

The 24HP HillmanCoatalen was entered into the 1907 Tourist Trophy.

A crash saw it fail to finish but it had been noticed nonetheless.

Coatalen’s stay at the company was a short one - he left in 1909 to join Sunbeam.

The following year the company became the Hillman Motor Car Company.

Initially Hillman built big cars with four our sixcylinder engines - one had a 9.7-litre unit under the bonnet.

The first big seller was a smaller model - the 1913 9hp, which had a 1,357cc four-cylinder engine. It subsequently became the 11hp powered by a 1,600cc engine.

The 14hp, launched in 1925, became Hillman’s most successful vehicle to date and it had a production run which continued until 1928.

Hillman came under the control of the Rootes brothers - William and Reginald - in 1928 and then merged with Humber and the Commer Commercial Vehicles Company to become the Rootes Group.

Over time Hillman became the Rootes Group’s manufacturer of small cars.

As such it became the best-known marque within a successful group, that also included Humber and Sunbeam and much later on Singer.

Hillman, Humber and Commer were all failing companies with factories and production methods that were outdated.

The Rootes brothers were determined to turn the companies around and succeed.

In 1931 the Hillman Wizard was launched and though the Rootes brothers had big ambitions for it its success was limited.

Another new model, the Hillman Minx, was launched the following year and it was a success from the off.